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God’s Razor of Judgment

5 “Now, son of man, take a sharp sword and use it as a barber’s razor to shave your head and your beard. Then take a set of scales and divide up the hair.2 When the days of your siege come to an end, burn a third of the hair inside the city. Take a third and strike it with the sword all around the city. And scatter a third to the wind. For I will pursue them with drawn sword.3 But take a few hairs and tuck them away in the folds of your garment.4 Again, take a few of these and throw them into the fire and burn them up. A fire will spread from there to all Israel.

5 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.6 Yet in her wickedness she has rebelled against my laws and decrees more than the nations and countries around her. She has rejected my laws and has not followed my decrees.

7 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You have been more unruly than the nations around you and have not followed my decrees or kept my laws. You have not even[a] conformed to the standards of the nations around you.

8 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will inflict punishment on you in the sight of the nations.9 Because of all your detestable idols, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again.10 Therefore in your midst parents will eat their children, and children will eat their parents. I will inflict punishment on you and will scatter all your survivors to the winds.11 Therefore as surely as I live, declares the SovereignLord, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices, I myself will shave you; I will not look on you with pity or spare you.12 A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds and pursue with drawn sword.

13 “Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent my wrath on them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal.

14 “I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by.15 You will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke. I the Lord have spoken.16 When I shoot at you with my deadly and destructive arrows of famine, I will shoot to destroy you. I will bring more and more famine upon you and cut off your supply of food.17 I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I the Lord have spoken.”

Doom for the Mountains of Israel

6 The word of the Lord came to me:2 “Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel; prophesy against them3 and say: ‘You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.4 Your altars will be demolished and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will slay your people in front of your idols.5 I will lay the dead bodies of the Israelites in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars.6 Wherever you live, the towns will be laid waste and the high places demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and devastated, your idols smashed and ruined, your incense altars broken down, and what you have made wiped out.7 Your people will fall slain among you, and you will know that I am the Lord.

8 “‘But I will spare some, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the lands and nations.9 Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices.10 And they will know that I am the Lord; I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them.

11 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Strike your hands together and stamp your feet and cry out “Alas!” because of all the wicked and detestable practices of the people of Israel, for they will fall by the sword, famine and plague.12 One who is far away will die of the plague, and one who is near will fall by the sword, and anyone who survives and is spared will die of famine. So will I pour out my wrath on them.13 And they will know that I am the Lord, when their people lie slain among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and every leafy oak—places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols.14 And I will stretch out my hand against them and make the land a desolate waste from the desert to Diblah[b]—wherever they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

The End Has Come

7 The word of the Lord came to me:2 “Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to the land of Israel:

“‘The end! The end has comeupon the four corners of the land!3 The end is now upon you,and I will unleash my anger against you.I will judge you according to your conductand repay you for all your detestable practices.4 I will not look on you with pity;I will not spare you.I will surely repay you for your conductand for the detestable practices among you.

“‘Then you will know that I am the Lord.’

5 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“‘Disaster! Unheard-of[c] disaster!See, it comes!6 The end has come!The end has come!It has roused itself against you.See, it comes!7 Doom has come upon you,upon you who dwell in the land.The time has come! The day is near!There is panic, not joy, on the mountains.8 I am about to pour out my wrath on youand spend my anger against you.I will judge you according to your conductand repay you for all your detestable practices.9 I will not look on you with pity;I will not spare you.I will repay you for your conductand for the detestable practices among you.

“‘Then you will know that it is I the Lord who strikes you.

10 “‘See, the day!See, it comes!Doom has burst forth,the rod has budded,arrogance has blossomed!11 Violence has arisen,[d]a rod to punish the wicked.None of the people will be left,none of that crowd—none of their wealth,nothing of value.12 The time has come!The day has arrived!Let not the buyer rejoicenor the seller grieve,for my wrath is on the whole crowd.13 The seller will not recoverthe property that was sold—as long as both buyer and seller live.For the vision concerning the whole crowdwill not be reversed.Because of their sins, not one of themwill preserve their life.

14 “‘They have blown the trumpet,they have made all things ready,but no one will go into battle,for my wrath is on the whole crowd.15 Outside is the sword;inside are plague and famine.Those in the countrywill die by the sword;those in the citywill be devoured by famine and plague.16 The fugitives who escapewill flee to the mountains.Like doves of the valleys,they will all moan,each for their own sins.17 Every hand will go limp;every leg will be wet with urine.18 They will put on sackclothand be clothed with terror.Every face will be covered with shame,and every head will be shaved.

19 “‘They will throw their silver into the streets,and their gold will be treated as a thing unclean.Their silver and goldwill not be able to deliver themin the day of the Lord’s wrath.It will not satisfy their hungeror fill their stomachs,for it has caused them to stumble into sin.20 They took pride in their beautiful jewelryand used it to make their detestable idols.They made it into vile images;therefore I will make it a thing unclean for them.21 I will give their wealth as plunder to foreignersand as loot to the wicked of the earth,who will defile it.22 I will turn my face away from the people,and robbers will desecrate the place I treasure.They will enter itand will defile it.

23 “‘Prepare chains!For the land is full of bloodshed,and the city is full of violence.24 I will bring the most wicked of nationsto take possession of their houses.I will put an end to the pride of the mighty,and their sanctuaries will be desecrated.25 When terror comes,they will seek peace in vain.26 Calamity upon calamity will come,and rumor upon rumor.They will go searching for a vision from the prophet,priestly instruction in the law will cease,the counsel of the elders will come to an end.27 The king will mourn,the prince will be clothed with despair,and the hands of the people of the land will tremble.I will deal with them according to their conduct,and by their own standards I will judge them.

“‘Then they will know that I am the Lord.’”

Footnotes:

Ezekiel 5:7Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac You have

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

God Disciplines His Children

4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.5 And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”[a]

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.13 “Make level paths for your feet,”[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

Warning and Encouragement

14 Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.15 See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.16 See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.17 Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done.

The Mountain of Fear and the Mountain of Joy

18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm;19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them,20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.”[c]21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”[d]

22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly,23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”[e]27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”[f]